The brief was to design a machine used for various purposes, most notably image manipulation. The overall feeling of the device was to mirror the ethos of the film, the "Future is Old" concept used by Scott for the rest of the production. The device Syd came up could be loosely described as a regular CRT television screen with a series of electronic odds and ends attached. Not in any way the sort of slick, shiney plastic devices that had become de rigeur in science fiction movies of the time.

The device is used by Deckard in the film to analyse a snapshot left by Leon in the replicant's hotel room, and by manipulating the photo using the Esper device, finds a clear image of Zhora, which constitues his second lead in the case of the escaped replicants.

The scene is one of the most evocative scenes in the film, as the combination of the smoke-filled room, Deckard's tired growl and the frantic bleeping of the Esper as it tracks across the photograph combine to convey the meeting of men and machines that was one of Scott's desired themes for the film.